The parable of the ten virgins can be found in Matthew chapter 25 in the New Testament of the Bible. It is the story of ten young girls on there way to meet the bridegroom. Unsure of when he would come, they must wait throughout the dark night. Five of the wise ladies prepared in advance by gathering oil for their lamp so that they would last all night long. The other five girls didn’t think to prepare in advance. When the bridegroom finally arrived the five prepared women were able to join the party without any problems. The five foolish unprepared women begged the others to share, but there wasn’t enough for everyone. So they were forced to rush to the shops to try and buy oil for their lamps. Due to the big party, all the shops were sold out and they were unable to purchase any oil to light their lamps. They arrived late to the party and were denied entrance.
You might be wondering why this story of a few silly girls is important. It is important because five of the girls were not silly. They prepared in advance. They didn’t know how long their lamps would need to last so they bought extra oil just in case. As the night dragged on their oil kept their lamps burning bright. The girls who didn’t prepare were left in a state of panic rushing to the store only to discover there was not more oil.
Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is a Category 5 Hurricane and sometimes it is a trucker’s strike that halts shipments to your local grocery store. The point is you don’t know which one you will be faced with. You might only need food and water for 72-hours, or you might need to replace everything own. Don’t get caught in the dark of night unprepared.
Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. The five foolish women didn’t plan ahead. They were just as excited about the party as everyone else, but their lack of planning prevented them from joining in the fun. If you don’t have the supplies you need to ensure your family’s survival then you’ll surely regret it.
Why didn’t the girls just share their supplies? They didn’t have enough to share among themselves and the others. You shouldn’t rely on the preparations of others. Governments and charity organizations do a lot to help a lot of people but don’t count on them when things get tough. Your failure to plan shouldn’t create an emergency for someone else.
Part of your preparation should include self-defense. The unprepared women asked for help, they could have put up much more of a fight. If you have the only food and water on the block be sure someone will come knocking at your door. Share if you can, but there might not be enough supplies to go around. Hungry people are not the most friendly. Be prepared to protect yourself and your supplies.
